#people who think that buying a dog from a byb is the same as rescuing because they were in poor conditions ???????

[lesbiten]

ive been finding myself really deep into various groups of dog people recently and can i just say that none of you people are normal

[elfdragon12]

Dog world thoughts:

I am a person who prefers adopting/taking in rehomed dogs. Especially as my rescue, though with her foibles, has a great temperament and has received some decent training in her past along with being a very good looking dog and pretty much the platonic ideal of her mix. I like reaping the benefits of someone else's work. However, I don't have beef with folks who choose to responsibly buy from reputable and ethical breeders, especially those who need dogs for specific jobs.... But I do think some of these folks too defensive of their choice because some who make this choice argue that they are actually the most moral/correct dog owners.

I saw someone claim that the "adopt, don't shop" slogan is a scam because, supposedly, shelters are just dumping sites for backyard breeders. This claim confuses me. If this is true, who benefits from it? Who is scammed? Shelters don't buy puppies from people because they're always too full. BYBs are, at best, offloading expenses. Potential adopters aren't looking for a pedigree or a fancy dog, maybe a specific breed, but a new family member. They know they're getting strays or accidental puppies or dogs that have been given up/removed. My personal experience says this either isn't true or not as prevalent as these people try to make it seem as I rarely see puppies in shelters and my own rescue was estimated to be 5 years old and she has too good a temperament to have been stuck in shelters her whole life. One of my sisters has fostered pairs of puppies a couple of times, but they certainly weren't "purebred" or known "designer" mixes.

Another claim I've seen was that, actually, people who shop are more responsible dog owners because shelter dogs being cheaper means that people will just impulse buy and return the dog when it inevitably doesn't work out. I won't say this doesn't happen... But this is also assuming that everyone getting a dog lives in the same circumstances. Sure, the 100 dollars I spent on my rescue at the shelter wasn't a payment I was going to sweat over. The 400 dollars I had to pay to my apartment complex for a pet deposit was more of a consideration, along with needing to submit her information to management for approval meant I had to be smart with what dog I brought home (granted, the employee I submitted everything to is a soft heart and actively wants people to have their pets). Also, I can't speak for every shelter, but the place I adopted from requires prospective owners to spend some time with intended dogs to cut down on this sort of thing.

I can't speak to everyone's experiences, but I don't think my experiences are wholy unique. There are irresponsible buyers and adopters and responsible buyers and adopters.